Warning: High Voltage
by Silver-White Wings
Summary: An old nightmare; a new murder case. Much to his distaste, Ciel is having problems sleeping. On top of that, the Queen has asked him to solve a new case of disappearances and reappearances. Could the two problems be connected, or is it more misfortune...?
1. Burnt

**A/N: **Yay, my first KuroFic!

...This was meant to be a one shot. It turned out at over 15,000 words so I've split it into chapters that I'll update as I proofread them individually. Expect quick updates, if you're reading this and it isn't finished yet.

I've managed to write a fairly decent amount in just over a week, but what matters is the quality of the contents, so please, critique me all you like. I'm waiting for you. *Adjusts glasses... even though I have none*

Expect the next update to be very, _very_, soon. I'm serious. Proofreading doesn't take long, even for a perfectionist like me, but that doesn't mean to say that I don't still miss things. Let me know if I HAVE missed something, and I'll fix it up how I deem appropriate ^^

I seem to ramble on in these notes, which is why I now put them at the top, in case there's a *SHOCKREVELATION* or *CLIFFHANGER* then suddenly me going on about some random nonsense no one ever reads.

Anyway, enjoy! ...Please :3

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><p><strong>Warning: High Voltage<strong>

_**Chapter One - Burnt**_

They were burning again. They were always burning.

_If I shut my eyes, it'll all go away! It's not real! It can't be real!_

_It was no use. Even with his eyes firmly shut tight, he could hear the crackling flames around him. A distant yell and a pained scream ripped through the air._

_He opened his eyes and uncovered his ears."Father?" he yelled, running in the direction of the horrible sounds. "Mother?"_

_He came to a broken door. He pushed it aside and ran into the room behind it, desperate to find his parents. He clung to the one measly shred of hope he had left._

_He saw them, and cried out in pain._

"_FATHER! MOTHER!"_

"Young Master?"

Ciel's eyes fluttered open. He was lying flat on his back in the centre of his bed, entangled in his sweat-drenched sheets. Sebastian hovered above him, firmly gripping his upper arms with both hands. He supposed he had been thrashing around a bit, judging by the upset state of the bed.

"My, Young Lord, you really should read something else before going to sleep," Sebastian remarked, eying the Edgar Allan-Poe book on the floor beside the bed.

"Shut up," Ciel growled, pulling his arms out of Sebastian's grip and sitting up. The room was still mostly dark, lit only by a single candle holder on the bedside, and it looked as if the sun was far from rising. "What time is it?"

"It is forty-three minutes past three in the morning, my Lord," Sebastian answered precisely. "You were thrashing about in danger of hurting yourself."

Ciel massaged his throbbing head with his palm. Sebastian's accurateness and acute hearing was still unnerving sometimes. He hoped that Sebastian would consider the book to be the reason for the nightmare, but somehow Ciel knew that his butler would piece together that it wasn't at all the case. How weak of him, to still have nightmares about the deaths of his parents. He was thirteen now; a teenager. Nightmares were for children, and definitely not for people of his status as an Earl; child or otherwise.

"Master?" Sebastian's voice dragged Ciel out of his thoughts. "Do you need anything? Would you like me to read to you until you fall asleep again, or sing you a lullaby?" he added teasingly.

Ciel scowled. "Shove off. Just bring me some tea," he snapped.

Sebastian stood, and bowed. "As you wish, my Young Lord." He left the room.

Ciel put his head in both hands, pushing the bases of his palms into his eyes. Showing weakness was not an option. _Quit being such a cry-baby_ he told himself. _It is my duty as the Earl of Phantomhive, the Queen's Watchdog, to keep my dignity and status._

He repeated it to himself many times. Whenever he had a nightmare, he would remind himself of this. Why, he did not know. Perhaps he thought his pride could stomp unpleasant images from his unconscious mind's eye?

Within minutes, Sebastian returned with the tea Ciel had requested. The sweet lemony aroma helped to relax him, and after a few sips, he was asleep once more.

Sebastian smirked at his sleeping master, before clearing away the half-full (or half-empty) cup of tea and extinguishing the candles.

"Honestly, my Lord," he said under his breath. "So _childish_."

When the sun had finally risen, and Sebastian had awoken his master again, Ciel continued as if nothing had happened.

"What's my schedule for today?" he asked with a sniff as Sebastian took away his clean breakfast plate.

"There is some urgent paperwork that needs to be finished today concerning a new toy model and a new flavour of chocolate. I suggest you do that as soon as possible. Then, at two in the afternoon you have lessons with the new Arithmetic tutor, Ms. Perkins. Apart from that, your schedule is relatively clear for the time being," Sebastian cited, putting a slight emphasis on the phrase 'for the time being'. While Ciel sometimes did have blanks in his schedule, the likelihood of them _not_ being filled by something last minute was practically non-existent. He wondered what would fill it today.

"I guess I'll be in my study, then. Bring me some tea in half an hour," Ciel said lazily.

"Very well, my lord."

Ciel was quick to finish the paperwork. By the time Sebastian came into his study with his tea and his mail, he was playing with dominoes on the top of his desk.

"A letter from the Queen, Young Master," Sebastian said, placing the tea on the desk and handing Ciel the letter. He flicked the end domino over and cut open the letter, reading over it quickly but carefully.

"Anything of relevance, my Young Lord?" Sebastian asked conversationally as he stacked the dominoes neatly inside their box and put them away.

"An odd case. Her Majesty wishes for me to solve a string of disappearances and reappearances," Ciel explained.

"Care to elaborate, Young Master?"

"London middle-class citizens have been disappearing from their homes and reappearing dead in completely unrelated locations. That's about all it says, though, we'll need to go to the Yard for more information."

Sebastian smirked. "This is a nice way to pass the time, is it not, Master?"

"I suppose it is, I was getting quite bored," Ciel admitted truthfully

Another half-hour later found Ciel and Sebastian at the scene of the latest crime, which was not far from the Phantomhive manor.

"-While there's no pattern connecting the victims, the injuries—" Sir Randall was saying to Abberline as Ciel and Sebastian approached them.

"-Are the same. Major burning and disfiguration to both arms," Ciel finished the sentence, much to Sir Randall's disgust.

"Not you again! We can handle this one on our own!" he spat.

Ciel smirked. "While I don't doubt you, I am simply fulfilling Her Majesty's wishes. May I see the crime scene?"

Sir Randall scowled stubbornly, while Abberline smiled tentatively at Ciel and Sebastian, who was following his master like a shadow. He'd seen them working on cases with the yard many times, but he still found the pair slightly intimidating.

Ciel and Sebastian were reluctantly allowed to see where the body had been found. It was in the cellar of an abandoned pub, and apart from the markings showing where the corpse had been, the room looked relatively unperturbed.

"What do you think, Sebastian?" Ciel enquired. "Apparently, the victim died of severe burns, but there doesn't appear to be any signs of a fire in here."

Sebastian frowned. "There is the possibility that the murder was not committed here, that the body was simply placed, or that it was not a fire, My Lord."

Ciel looked closely around the room again, making sure not to miss any possible detail. Finally, his eyes came to rest on Abberline, who was standing nervously at the foot of the stairs. Sir Randall had put him in charge of escorting Ciel and Sebastian.

"Where is the victim's corpse?" asked Ciel firmly.

"Currently undergoing autopsy," Abberline answered stiffly. "I have a list of the other victims here, if you need it…" He held out the paper awkwardly. Sebastian took it from him, and handed it to Ciel, who looked it over. The list stated the names, addresses, and dates of birth and death, the place of death, and a description of the crime scene. After looking it over, he handed it to Sebastian.

"You were saying there's no connection between the murders, but you're wrong. If you look closely at the dates, you can see the pattern," Ciel explicated smugly. "There have been five murders in total. The first was on the eighth of May. The second was two days later, on the tenth of May. The third, four days later, on the fourteenth. The fourth, nine days later, on the twenty-third of May. And the fifth was yesterday, the eighth of June."

Abberline said nothing, but his eyes widened in apparent shock at the young Earl's perceptiveness.

"So it's come full circle, hasn't it, Sebastian?" Ciel continued.

"Indeed it has, Young Master."

"If these murders continue, then the next will be either in twenty-five days, or, if the culprit intended to come right back to the eighth, then the next murder will be tomorrow, on the tenth."

"Y-you think so!" Abberline burst out.

"Yes, I do. Now could you take us to see the body?"

Abberline seemed lost in self-conflict for a minute, before he gave in, and allowed them to take a carriage to the local morgue, where the body was being kept.

Before they got to the carriage, Ciel gave the list of victims to Sebastian. "I want you to compile a list of relatives and acquaintances for each of these victims, then contact them all to find alibis for the victim's activity of... let's say, a week prior to the time of their disappearance. I want it done by tonight, at the latest."

"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian said as he helped Ciel into the carriage and saw to it that Tanaka knew where to drive the carriage. As it rolled away, he smirked. "It shall be done."

"Can one man do all of that in one day?" Abberline asked, shocked. "Isn't that order a bit harsh?"

Ciel smiled charmingly at the detective. "If it's Sebastian, he'll have it done before lunch," he said confidently, and with an air of finality, so that Abberline could simply not reply.

They reached the morgue within a few minutes, and Ciel and Abberline were lead into the room where the body lay, prepared for an autopsy. The body was as all the others had been described; the arms were completely charred, and there were some burns to various other parts of the body. The look on the young woman's face suggested that she had been caught by surprise. Ciel stared at the severe burns, especially at the nearly non-existent hands, which where the most charred.

"You've seen the body, now let's go!" Abberline said, eyeing Ciel, who was frowning, his brow furrowed.

"No, wait," he said quietly. "I don't think... that these are fire burns."

Abberline blinked. "How can you be sure?"

Ciel closed his eyes. As he did, he was able to see the disfigured bodies of his parents, engulfed in flame. "Trust me... I know well what a fire burn looks like."

Deciding not to remark on the young Earl's moment of sentimentality, Abberline asked. "Then what do you suggest?"

Eyes snapping open, Ciel once again took on the official haughtiness he so often wore. "Electricity perhaps? It would make sense, since I don't think merely having your arms char-grilled would cause someone to die, unless from blood loss."

Nodding, Abberline added, "And there was no blood at the scene, so that can't be it."

"Unless the victim was murdered somewhere other than in the cellar," Ciel corrected. "Even so, tell the pathologist to check for any signs of cardiovascular collapse or cardiac arrest or seizure."

"R-right!" Abberline stammered, pulling out a pen and a notepad from his coat pocket and quickly writing it down.

"And also," Ciel took a few steps closer to the body, holding his breath as to not breathe in the disgusting smell of blood and burnt flesh. "Look at this," he pointed a gloved finger at the blackened hand of the corpse. "Don't you think it takes on a slightly reddish hue, like blood? Fire would simply burn it away."

Abberline followed Ciel's instructions, and examinined the arm. Some of the blackness did indeed appear to be a dark red; like burnt congealed blood.

"Blood is a very good conductor of electricity. Better than water, in fact," Ciel continued. "But when an extremely high voltage runs through it, it will do its best to build up a resistance, and therefore congeal."

Amazed at Ciel's observance and knowledge, Abberline scribbled down these notes, as well as the next instruction, though he hesitated first.

"I'd also like this blood to be tested and compared to a sample of pure blood from inside the body."

Abberline didn't bother to question why, since by now he trusted the young boy's instincts probably more than his own.

"Alright then, we can go now," Ciel sighed lazily, walking towards the door.

Ciel went back to his carriage and instructed Tanaka to take him back to the manor, while Abberline stayed behind to relay the information to the pathologist who was in charge of the autopsy.

Sebastian was, of course, standing on the driveway waiting as the carriage rolled up to the front door.

"Young Master, welcome home," he said smoothly. "It appears we have some...uninvited guests, so I was unable to return to you."

"Uninvited guests?" Ciel echoed. "You don't mean..."

"CIEEEEEEEEEEEL!"

Suddenly, Prince Soma burst through the doors and started running towards Ciel at an impossibly fast speed.

"Ah-!" Ciel gasped desperately as the young Prince drew closer. "Sebastian!"

"Yes, my Lord?" Sebastian asked pleasantly as Prince Soma took a flying leap and smacked into Ciel in a tight attack hug.

"Cieeeeel! I haven't seen you in so loooong! It's good to see my best friend again!" he gushed, still holding Ciel in a vice-like grip.

"Get off me! I'm not your bloody toy!"Ciel protested indignantly, cringing away from his enthusiastic 'friend'. "Sebastian! Help me, damn it!"

However, Sebastian was deep in a conversation with Agni, who had appeared silently under the cover of his noisy master, about the benefits of salt. _Salt._

Finally, Soma released Ciel, and dragged him inside to taste a new curry recipe of Agni's.

"Bastard," he mumbled under his breath, eyeing Sebastian's amiable expression as he served tea in the parlour twenty minutes later. He then bitterly turned his gaze onto Soma, who was staring at him expectantly. "So, why are you here again?"

Soma's expression fell. "You aren't happy to see us?" he said, hurt. "We came to see you and Sebastian, of course!"

Before Ciel could reply, Sebastian did so for him. "Forgive my Master, he's simply tired from having slept restlessly last night."

Ciel turned and gave him a glowered at him. How _dare_ he talk about such personal things in front of guests? Especially Dr. Isn't-a-Doctor.

"Ciel! You aren't sleeping! Lack of sleep is connected to many serious conditions!" Prince Soma burst out, leaping from his chair suddenly. "Agni! Get me my diagnosis book!"

"Jo Ajna!"

"Wait a second! There's nothing wrong with me, I just... ate too much chocolate last night is all!" Ciel lied desperately. Agni and Prince Soma did not listen, of course, and started off on a list of possible ailments Ciel could be suffering from.

"Ah! It's probably insomnia, Ciel! Or narcolepsy, which also includes the weakness of muscles, which makes complete sense for you!"

"What! I do _not_ have insomnia! And I'm not weak at all!" Ciel disputed angrily, also standing up from his chair.

The instant he did so, Soma was in front of him and trying to push him back down onto the chair. "No, Ciel! You mustn't stand up! It could be RLS! Restless Leg Syndrome! You stay here and I'll-!"

"Don't touch me!" Ciel hissed, slapping the Prince's hand away. "Leave me alone!"He glared at the three of them – Sebastian included, before turning on his heel and storming out of the room.

His exit preceded a stiff silence. Soma's hand was still stretched out to where Ciel had been standing seconds previously.

"Forgive him, please," Sebastian said quietly, breaking the silence. "He is simply under an amount of stress at the moment. Please understand, he is only a child, on top of being an Earl."

"O-of course!" Soma stuttered guiltily. "Please tell Ciel I'm sorry, Sebastian. I was only trying to help..."

"As you wish. Now, please excuse me, I must inform my master that his arithmetic tutor has rescheduled today's lesson," Sebastian bowed deeply before taking leave.

He strode quickly down the hall, and entered his master's study, whereupon he found the Young Master sitting in his chair hiding behind some company documents.

"What's wrong with you today, Sebastian?" he snarled, not looking up. "You're even more apathetic than usual."

Sebastian smirked, slowly approaching his Master's desk. "There's nothing wrong with me, Young Master. It's _you_."

Ciel slapped the papers down on the desk and looked up at him, wearing same bitter expression as earlier. "What are you talking about?"

Sebastian leaned forward, placing a teasing finger under Ciel's chin. "You're even more irritable than usual, lately. Not to mention these horrible dark rings under your eyes." He traced them once with his thumb, as if to make him aware of them. "You must get more sleep, Young Master.

Ciel pushed his hand away. "Don't be ridiculous. I've been getting all the sleep I need."

Sebastian smirked, straightening up. "Then perhaps it is the nightmares?"

Ciel stiffened and brought the papers up in front of his face again.

Chuckling, Sebastian remarked. "Really, my Lord, you must tell me these things. We don't want the Young Master getting sick, now, do we?"

Ciel remained stonily silent.

"By the way, Ms. Perkins is unable to teach you arithmetic today, due to a recent bout of the flu, so you have more free time."

Still no reply.

"Would you like one of the custard tarts I prepared this morning? They should have set by now."

Ciel's fingers twitched slightly. "...Fine. Bring it to me later. I'm going to get some work done."

Sebastian chuckled under his breath. "Very good, Young Master."

As soon as Sebastian had left the study and closed the door behind him, Ciel threw the papers down and rushed over to the mirror, hung on the wall near the window, to inspect his eye. There was indeed a dark ring underneath it, and they were slightly bloodshot, as if he had not slept in days. His eye patch covered up whatever rings might be under his other eye. Cursing under his breath, he returned to his seat and promised himself an early night.

Sebastian returned just over an hour later wheeling on a tray the promised custard tart and some hot Assam Black Tea.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, Master. Prince Soma was causing quite the—" he paused when he saw that Ciel had his head buried in his arms, fast asleep.

"My, my," Sebastian murmured, shaking his head.

Ciel's eyes opened slowly. "Sebastian..." He lifted his head.

"I apologise, Master. Did I wake you?" Sebastian said sincerely, bowing.

"You must have. Did I drift off?" Ciel asked, still slightly bleary-eyed.

"Obviously, Young Master. You appear to have been asleep for a while," mused the butler, as he poured his master some tea.

"What makes you say that?"

Sebastian smiled amiably. "All irritation with me has vanished."

Ciel rolled his eyes, and took the cup of tea as it was handed to him. "I suppose Prince Thinks-He's-A-Doctor is still causing a racket, then?"

Sighing, Sebastian nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. When I told him you were busy doing paperwork he was less than pleased."

"It's not like I got any work done, anyway," Ciel admitted as he straightened the papers that had gotten slightly creased when he had fallen asleep on them. "I suppose I really was tired. No, I still am..."

"Would you like me to prepare a bath for you, Young Master? Then you can take it easy for the rest of the day," Sebastian suggested kindly.

"Yes, do so right away. I'll stay here and finish this in the meantime." He indicated the tea and tart.

"Right away, my Young Lord," he said, bowing low and leaving the study. Ciel quickly finished his tea and wolfed down the custard tart. Sebastian's sweets were, as always, perfect. Five minutes after his departure, aforementioned sweet-maker returned to inform Ciel that his bath was ready.

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><p>- Silver<p> 


	2. Flesh

**A/N: **Chapter two ^^

Since it was already written, it should have been out faster, but... I was lazy with the proofreading. And I had to proofread even more than usual because I kept adding bits for clarity -_- I added a total of 200 words.

Anyway, a lot happens here, and a lot happens in the next chapter, too. Enjoy! ^^

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><p><strong>Warning: High Voltage<strong>

_**Chapter Two - Flesh**_

Stretching, Ciel stood up and followed Sebastian to the bathroom. As soon as they were in and the door was locked behind them, Ciel was able to ask the question that had been burdening him since his return from the morgue.

"Did you conduct the investigation like I asked you to?" he demanded as Sebastian untied his cravat. He found it somewhat ironic to use the word 'conduct'.

"Of course, Young Master. I'd been meaning to speak to you about that," Sebastian verified as he removed Ciel's shoes. "And I suppose you have your own analysis regarding the corpse?"

Ciel nodded, and stepped into the tub of hot soapy water. "Indeed. We'll trade information, then."

"Sounds like a brilliant idea, Master," Sebastian agreed, running a wet, soapy cloth over Ciel's bare back. "I'll go first, shall I?"

"Start with alibis."

"Very well. Each victim has at least one alibi for every hour of the last week of their lives, up until approximately fifty-six hours before their corpse was discovered," Sebastian recited while running more hot water over Ciel's small frame. "Anything to construe from that, my Lord?"

Ciel frowned, thinking. "Yes. Dates and times are related, are they not? The first murder occurred on the eighth. Fifty-six _divided by_ eight equals seven. I wonder if that has any significance."

"You've been working well with numbers today, my Lord. I wonder if a new arithmetic tutor is really necessary," Sebastian joked, rubbing soap into his master's hair.

"I wouldn't mind in the least if I didn't need one, I hate numbers. Are there any other similarities between the victims?"

Sebastian smirked. "I've found that they all attend church proceedings at the same place."

"Oh _really_ now? And what church is it?"

"Saint Paul's Cathedral. It's a renowned place, so I took the liberty of visiting to do a little research," Sebastian said mischievously.

Ciel leaned back, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of the hot water on his fatigued skin. "A demon in a church? Ironic. What is it you have found?"

Sebastian stood and dried his hands. "One of their head bishops is currently offering a new service, of sorts. It is called 'Purification'. I was unable to gather any more information about it, since I would have to become a member which takes a week at the least. Their security is very good, too."

"Suspicious. I suppose it's safe to list this bishop as a suspect," Ciel mused, stepping out of the bath, where Sebastian slipped a towel over his shoulders and began to dry him and dress him in his nightshirt. "Did you get a name?"

"Yes; I have written a full report including details about proceedings and anything I thought to be suspicious."

"Good, I'll read it tomorrow," Ciel said haughtily, then ruined the effect by letting out a yawn and a few harsh coughs.

Frowning, Sebastian scooped Ciel into his arms. "Well then, Young Master, it's time for you to rest."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't protest as his servant carried him to his room and placed him in bed.

Ciel was almost convinced that no nightmares would befall him that night, and for the most part, he was right. His mind's eye stayed peacefully blank. Until...

"_Are you going in then, boy?" said a gruff voice from behind him. He didn't have time to reply before he was pushed roughly through the large, elegant doors. He turned to reprimand whoever had shoved him so rudely, but there was no one there. All he saw was the other side of the large doors, shut behind him._

_He turned back to face the room; a large Cathedral, lit up with multicoloured light from the many stained glass windows. Rows of pews stretched the length of the floor, and at the front on a raised platform sat an extravagant altar, seemingly glowing in the soft light. The room was filled with people, some wearing long white robes. It was silent as they prayed._

_Curiously, he walked forwards, his heeled shoes clicking on the stone floor, the sound magnified by the echoing dome ceiling. Despite the unusually large noise he was making, no one paid him any mind. They stayed eerily still._

_As he slowly approached the bishop, whose head was bowed in a prayer at the altar, an uneasy feeling built in the pit of his stomach._

_When he was nearly ten feet from the bishop, he was finally acknowledged._

"_Ciel Phantomhive," said the bishop in wonderment, causing him to stop in his tracks. "We've been waiting."_

_The bishop clapped his hands twice, sharp and clear._

_He heard movement from behind him, and spun around to see the people who were sitting in the pews making their way towards him. As they drew closer, their skin turned dark red with sticky congealed blood. They stumbled forwards, dirtying the white stone floor with trails of blood and burnt flesh._

_His eyes widening in horror, he stumbled backwards into the bishop, who simply pushed him into the piles of wretched bodies. Disfigured hands grabbed him and held him down on the bloody floor._

_Suddenly, the scene transformed, and he was once again looking up at masked, jeering faces, holding him down on the stone as he struggled._

_Before he was able to grasp what had happened, the scene flickered back to the cathedral._

"_Let go! Get off!" he yelled, pulling away. Despite their strong grips, their decaying arms came off easily, and he ran towards the bishop, who had his back turned, reading the bible as if nothing was happening. He grabbed his shoulder, as if to turn him around, but a hand shot out from under the robe and hit him in the stomach, sending him flying off the raised platform, coughing and spluttering._

He landed on the carpeted floor next to his bed.

Ciel continued to let out hacking coughs, his eyes still shut tight. He heard a faint sigh, and an arm slid behind his back and helped him sit up, while a cold gloved hand was placed on his forehead.

Eventually, the coughing ceased, and he slackened against Sebastian's arm, his breathing still irregular.

"Is there something wrong with me, Sebastian?" he wheezed.

"Could you be realising your weaknesses, Young Master?" Sebastian joked.

"Shove off..." Ciel said weakly.

Sebastian frowned slightly as he lifted his master back onto the bed. "The time is seven twenty-four. Would you like breakfast now or do you wish to rest some more?"

"You fool! Of course I don't want to rest more. Bring me my tea," Ciel snapped, straightening up. His normal ego had returned at full force.

Sebastian bowed, and retrieved the trolley from just outside the door. "Today's tea is Lady Grey with added citrus and milk. For breakfast, I have prepared Eggs Benedict with a side of toast and a light soup." You could say that Sebastian had also returned to normal, but he had never been anything more or less in the first place.

"Good. Any new information?"

"The Yard called earlier. The final cause of death was indeed cardiac arrest, as you had deducted yourself. You've done a very good job, Young Master," Sebastian praised.

"Of course I have, I'm the Queen's watchdog," Ciel put in.

Sebastian continued; "I have put the full autopsy report along with my own report of findings on the desk in your study."

"Good. I'll look through them later. I expect the next murder to be today, so keep an eye out for any news."

"Yes, my Lord."

As Ciel entered the dining room, he was approached by Soma, who bowed deeply. "I'm sorry about last night, Ciel! I was just worried!"

Ciel rolled his eyes. "It's fine, I was just tired, so I snapped. _I'm_ sorry."

Soma looked up, his eyes watery. "Aww, Ciel!" He reached out to hug him, but Ciel had already sat down in his seat at the head of the table.

Breakfast passed by without a hitch, other than Soma's continued chatter. As Ciel finished eating and Sebastian took away his plate, Soma leapt up enthusiastically.

"Right! Let's play Hide and go Seek!"

Ciel simply stared at him as if he was crazy. "What? Don't be stupid, I have work to do."

"Oh come on, you're so uptight! If we play a game you'll feel happier!

Not having any particular desire to feel happier, Ciel remained seated. How could playing such a juvenile game make him happy, anyway?

Prince Soma sighed, but all the same, a slightly evil grin crept onto his face. "Alright then, I'll just have to hug you until you agree!" he said happily, making his way towards him.

Knowing that Sebastian probably wasn't going to help, Ciel gave in. "Fine, fine! I'll play with you! One game!"

The immature Indian prince clapped happily. "Yay! You can hide first; I'll stay here and count."

Rolling his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that morning, Ciel got up from his chair and walked into the hallway, not really caring whether he was caught or not. As he passed the door to the cellar, he caught the oh-so-familiar scent of burning flesh. He stopped in his tracks, and walked back to the door, no longer able to smell it.

_Strange..._he thought to himself, pushing open the door and slowly descending the narrow, winding staircase.

He caught the smell again as he approached the bottom, and continued carefully. The cavernous cellar came into view, and though the smell was incredibly strong, he could see nothing wrong.

Until his foot met with something soft.

He froze, and looked down slowly. There, beneath his foot, was the next murder victim, as charred and bloody as the past victims had been – if not, more so.

Yelping, Ciel scrambled away from it, his foot hitting the bottom step and causing him to fall hard on his back.

"Sebastian!" he gasped as he rubbed his head.

The sound of footsteps down the stairs became apparent. "Yes, my Lord? What is–?" Sebastian's sentence was cut off as he spotted the body. "Oh. Well that's just disgusting."

Ciel pulled himself up, still rubbing his head. "I was right about the time of the next murder, then..." he mumbled. Sebastian stepped past him and examined the corpse.

"The same as all the other times, from the description we were given. There's this, too," Sebastian reached into the man's chest pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, somehow unstained by blood.

Trying not to breathe because of the foul and horrifyingly familiar stench, Ciel took the note and unfolded it. In the corner of the page was a small, regal-looking cross. The note was written with pen, which, Ciel thought, was very stupid of whoever had written it. He then read it over once, his scowl deepening, before handing it to Sebastian, who read it aloud.

"'To my Dear Earl Ciel Phantomhive'," he read. "'You've done very well in your deductions so far. I would expect nothing less from someone as brilliant as you. However, I am also a brilliant person. The yard will suspect you if they find that there is a corpse in your manor, won't they? Though only an idiot would leave the evidence lying around like that, the Yard aren't all that bright themselves, are they?' My, he's very full of himself," Sebastian commented.

"Just keep reading," said Ciel impatiently, starting to feel nauseous. It was either that or light-headed from breathing as little as possible.

"Very well. 'This little beauty isn't going to be the first, though. However, it's not really necessary what the Yard does or doesn't do. You're going to die unless you do what I say: Kill the Queen. Either do it yourself or get someone to do it for you, it doesn't matter. As long as she ends up dead, I'll turn myself in. If not, you and every other living person involved in this case will end up dead. God bless, the Purifier.'" Sebastian finished reading with a puzzled expression on his face. "If it doesn't matter what Scotland Yard thinks, why did he go to the trouble to plant this corpse, and possibly another?"

"I don't know, but it's annoying. If the Yard does suspect me, it'll make more trouble. He's bluffing about killing me," Ciel remarked.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure, Young Master?"

Ciel looked up at his butler. "Is it your job to protect me, or not? He can't get anywhere near me as long as you're around."

Smirking, Sebastian placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "I am honoured, my Lord.

"There's probably an intruder either inside or outside of the mansion, so don't leave my side until we find them," Ciel commanded. "That's an order."

With the little space there was at the bottom of the stairs, Sebastian knelt before his Master. "Yes, My Lord."

"Good. Now let's get out of here, I feel sick."

When they reached the top of the stairs and exited into the hallway, they were practically run over by Soma and Agni.

"Hah! Found you, Ciel!" the Prince cried triumphantly.

"Cut it out! Now's not the time for games!" Ciel snapped.

Soma looked hurt. It was not an unfamiliar expression. "What do you mean? You said you would play with me!"

"I sense that there is something wrong," Agni speculated.

"You're quite right about that," Sebastian confirmed. "We believe there may be an intruder either inside or outside of the manor."

The two Indian's expressions turned shocked.

"An intruder?" Prince Soma gasped. "Why?"

"To kill me, probably," Ciel sighed casually. He had long ago decided that lying was mostly useless against these two.

Soma's eyes widened further.

Sebastian smiled pleasurably. "Since I am currently in charge of the Young Master's protection, I cannot search the grounds and manor myself. If you were to do it for me, it would be a great help to the both of us."

"O-of course!" the Prince stuttered, still shocked. "Agni! Go recruit the other servants! I will start searching the manor!"

"But Prince!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

Agni looked to Ciel and Sebastian for help. He obviously didn't want to leave the Prince on his own with a possibly murderous intruder on the loose.

"The only one they want to kill is me, and possibly Sebastian, but you needn't worry about that," Ciel clarified impatiently, feeling as if he was about to throw up.

"A-alright." Agni took off down to the kitchen, while Soma went to search the ground floor.

Sebastian turned to Ciel, who was almost sure he looked green. "Well? What now, Young Master?"

"To my study, I think. By now we can be fairly certain that the Bishop is the culprit, but I don't think he's alone," he explained. "I may have overlooked something, so I think reading through the reports would be a good idea."

Sebastian bowed, before following Ciel down the hall. "Yes, my Lord, it _is_ a good idea."

When they were only a few doors away from the study, Ciel stopped dead, and Sebastian instantly knew why. "Ah, I suppose Mr. 'Purifier' wasn't lying about that part, then."

Ciel moaned in resignation, then, despite that he _did_, in fact, have a slightly green hue, he had the audacity to march up to the study door and push it open.

Sebastian quickly followed behind him. This time, the corpse was propped up in Ciel's chair behind the desk; it's bloody and distorted hands rested on top of the reports. _Tsk... I worked hard on those._ He thought.

Ciel quickly covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt to stifle the waves of nausea that crashed over him.

Looking at the corpse, he noticed that the Bishop (probably) had left the eyes open, and pulled back the mouth in such a way that it looked as if the boy (who looked only a bit older than Ciel himself) was wearing a maniacal smile.

Seeing this, Ciel's stomach lurched, and he retched, clutching his stomach with his free hand.

"Young Master!" Sebastian grabbed his shoulders and pulled him out of the study, kicking the door shut behind them. "You shouldn't have gone in!"

Ciel didn't answer, but retched again.

Sighing, Sebastian dashed to the nearest broom cupboard just down the hall and returned to his master with a bucket.

Given up trying to resist, Ciel removed his hand and threw up violently into the bucket. Sebastian kneeled next to him, his hand on his small Master's back, watching him wretch. Did burning flesh still affect him that much? Sure, it was never a pleasant smell, but most people wouldn't need to regurgitate their breakfast over it. He'd worked hard on that breakfast too. Now that, and not to mention that the documents he had so meticulously written and laid out for his Young Master were now useless. How annoying.

Finally, the stream of half-digested foods gushing from Ciel's mouth ceased, but he remained knelt on the floor, shivering tremendously.

"Se… Sebast… Sebastian…" he panted. "Get… get the note."

"Note, my Lord?" Sebastian enquired gently.

"It's on… on the papers."

"Yes, my Lord." He stood and opened the study door just enough to slip into the room, just in case the Young Master still felt sick. He crossed to the desk and examined the papers in front of the ruptured corpse. There was, indeed, an unfolded note on the only part of the papers _not_ soaked in blood.

"What does the note say?"

Sebastian looked up. Ciel was standing in the middle of the room, wiping away some vomit that had dribbled down his chin with his sleeve. He was still shaking, and his cheeks were flushed in comparison to his otherwise grey-hued skin, but he was no longer stumbling over words, and looked perfectly serious.

"Young Master, you don't need to come in here if you're uncomfortable with it," Sebastian offered.

"I'm fine. Now tell me what the note says," Ciel insisted.

Sebastian smirked, and read the short note. "It says 'To my Dear Earl Phantomhive; this is just to prove that I'm being serious. Make your decision now. Live or die. God bless, the Purifier'."

Ciel frowned. "How annoying…"

"So what will you do, Young Master?"

Ciel's stiff gaze flickered to him. "I thought I already explained it? There's no way I would ever have the Queen assassinated, and long as you're here I'm safe anyway." he repeated.

At that moment, as if to contradict him, the study window suddenly smashed, and a shower of broken glass rained upon Sebastian so that, for a moment, he couldn't see anything but white dust and shards of glass

When it cleared, he turned to Ciel, who looked shocked.

"Young Master?" Without warning, the boy suddenly collapsed. Sebastian dashed forward to catch him, and noticed the dart in his neck, a folded piece of paper skewered at the base of the needle. Ciel's shaking hand reached up and wrenched the dart out, wincing as he did so. "Young Master, are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" he said faintly, before his whole body slackened as he passed out.

"Tch…" Sebastian removed the dart from Ciel's hand and he raised it to his nose to sniff it. It was as he had thought; it was coated in tranquiliser. With one hand – as the other was supporting the unconscious Young Master – he pulled the note from the needle and unfolded it.

_To my Dear Earl Phantomhive,  
>As you wish. You may reconsider, but proceed with caution, because I <em>will_ kill you.  
>God bless,<br>The Purifier._

Sebastian solemnly re-folded the note and slipped it into his coat pocket, before readjusting his grip on the Young Master and lifting him. _This is a problem,_ he thought to himself. _I didn't even see that coming. I wonder if the bishop is inhuman. Or has an inhuman subordinate, maybe?_

With these thoughts in mind, he left the study, Ciel in his arms, and looked at the bucket of sick on the floor. He decided he would take care of it later, or get one of the servants to do it. His master was, of course, his first priority, as were the orders he was given.

As he thought this, Ciel twitched slightly in his arms, as if he knew what Sebastian was thinking and wanted to comment on it. However, he had the barrier of being unconscious.

Chuckling mentally, Sebastian carried the young Earl to his room, and had just thrown the covers over him when Agni burst in.

"Mr. Sebastian! We have caught the intruder! They've got her in the entrance hall!"


	3. Answers

**A/N: **This is so much later than it should be. Sumimasen!

The new school term started, so I hardly have the time or energy for something as tedious as proof-reading. T_T My new co-curricular schedule uses up four nights a week, not to mention homework (which I haven't actually done...)

So... updates will be slower, despite the fact that it's all written. I feel like such a failure D:

Anyway, enough of that, please try to forgive me and just enjoy the chapter! :]

* * *

><p><strong>Warning: High Voltage<strong>

_**Chapter Three – Answers**_

"Mr. Sebastian! We have caught the intruder! They've got her in the entrance hall!"

Sebastian looked up. He wasn't all that surprised at the capture, as whoever it was would have had to stay in one place for a while to hear Ciel's answer, then shatter the window and shoot the dart. But… '_her'?_ He didn't mean to be sexist, but it was surprising that the intruder was female. "That's wonderful," he replied pleasantly, not all that sure if the intruder was the one they were looking for, so he added; "If you don't mind, Mr. Agni, would you stay with the Young Master while I go see?"

A look of confusion crossed the Indian butler's face as he noticed Ciel, but thankfully he decided not to ask. "Of course!"

"You are most kind," Sebastian said sincerely, bowing before leaving the room and making his way down to the entrance hall. When he reached the last stair case, he found Mey-Rin at the top, scrubbing at what looked to be a fresh stain in the wood. How it got there, he didn't know, nor did he want to. However, he knew he would probably have to fix it himself sooner or later.

"Oh! Mr. Sebastian! We caught the intruder, yes we did!" she said, standing and rushing up to him.

"Yes, I heard. Thank you for your hard work," Sebastian answered, continuing down the stairs and leaving Mey-Rin blushing on the landing.

In the entrance hall, the first thing he saw was Prince Soma standing with his back turned to the stairs, his arms folded and his head high. Finny was standing nervously to the side, and even Bard had a look of apprehension on his face. As he neared them, he saw that Soma was standing in front of a chair, in which a young girl, probably not even in her twenties, was sitting, tied to it by thick ropes. She talked cheerfully up at what should have been an 'intimidating' figure.

"—And they taste a bit like raspberries. Or was it blueberries? I can never tell the difference between those two," she was saying.

Okay, this was certainly getting a bit… weird. She was relatively ordinary looking, with dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. However, despite being obviously female, she wore long black pants and a grey trench coat, which faintly reminded him of something.

"Ah! Sebastian!" Finny exclaimed, running over to him. "We caught the intruder, but…"

The girl looked over at the new arrival. "Oh, _you're_ Sebastian. They kept mentioning your name, and I did wonder."

"…She keeps talking about stuff completely irrelevant," Bard finished Finny's sentence.

Sebastian gaze shifted to Prince Soma, who seemed to have an irritated expression frozen on his face. Suddenly, he snapped out of it, and looked around for Agni. Upon not seeing him anywhere, he turned to Sebastian. "Where is Agni?"

"I left him to protect the Young Master; this may not be the only intruder," Sebastian explained.

"It's rude to talk about someone who's sitting right in front of you, you know," the girl piped up. "And you needn't worry about any other intruders, I was the only one."

"Well, I don't wish to be rude and doubt you, but I have to make sure. Where did you put the two bodies?" Sebastian asked firmly.

Every head in the room looked at Sebastian, who was looking at the girl, who stared intently back at Sebastian.

"In the cellar and in the study," she answered, slowly and evenly.

Sebastian nodded. "So you're also the one who smashed the window a few minutes ago?"

The girl looked at her feet, as if ashamed. "Yes, I did. I was caught shortly after that."

His hand on his chin, Sebastian turned to the others. "Is this true?"

Finny answered. "Y-yeah! I saw a window smash from outside so I went to see what had happened, and I found her below it!"

"I see." Sebastian's eyes flicked back to the strange girl. "So do you work for the bishop? Or are you pretending to _be_ the bishop?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that," she said, as if it were obvious. "I can only confirm what you already know, since it's pointless to deny the truth."

Soma looked at Sebastian, the irritated look back again. "Alright then," Sebastian replied patiently, bringing a hand to his chin. "Is the bishop the murderer?"

The girl looked as if she wanted to laugh. "Of course not! Goodness, I can't imagine him doing something even remotely violent! And though I often pretend to be other people, he is someone I would never even _attempt!_"

Everyone else stayed quiet, but Sebastian could see them exchanging glances out of the corner of his eye. He knew it probably wasn't logical to be interrogating the girl in front of them, but he knew they would refuse to leave. Well, _Soma_ would.

"Then, are the victims—"

_Bang! SMASH!_

Everyone spun around in the direction of the stairs, except for the girl, who muttered "Oops, my bad," in a tone that the others wouldn't have heard. The noises overlapped each other, as if the first had caused the second, which was highly plausible.

Sebastian's thoughts quickly reverted to his earlier theory of an inhuman being involved, but they hastily flicked back to whatever might be happening upstairs. He had also heard something else the others hadn't; a frightened yell.

Sighing, the butler turned to Prince Soma, Bard, and Finny. "Stay here. I will be back shortly," he said firmly, bowing quickly but politely before taking off up the stairs.

"Mr. Sebastian! I think that came from the Young Master's room, yes I do!" Mey-Rin called out as he reached where he was still unsuccessfully scrubbing the wood. Sebastian merely nodded at her, and kept going until he was out of sight, before putting on some… well, you could call it _demon speed_, and he reached his Master's bedroom door within seconds.

Upon opening it, the first thing he saw was the mass of glass on the floor. _Oh dear,_ was Sebastian's first thought. _More mess to clean up._ The next thing was Ciel standing kneeling at the end of the bed, pistol clutched in his hands, his arms outstretched towards the window. He seemed unharmed other than the fact that he was once again panting and quivering. And finally, Agni was simply standing next to the bed, looking quite shocked.

"Ah, Young Master, I see you have risen," Sebastian said, as if nothing was wrong.

Ciel turned and glared at him as he lowered the gun.

"He just suddenly woke up and shot the window!" Agni explained in bewilderment, looking desperately at Sebastian.

"Oh, did he now? Young Master, please explain your actions," Sebastian requested sternly.

"Quit it, Sebastian," Ciel demanded, annoyed by the 'everything is normal' behaviour of his butler. He slid off the bed and replaced the gun to its home under his pillows. "There was someone there, alright? But they… disappeared."

Agni's head flicked to look at Ciel, then say to Sebastian, "I didn't see anyone..."

Sebastian looked carefully at his master, who was staring back intently, and it seemed as if they were both thinking the same thing.

"By the way, didn't I order you to stay by my side until the intruder was found?" Ciel reminded him.

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, you did, my Lord, but we have found them now."

Ciel's brow furrowed further, as he glanced back at the window. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, she knows about things only the intruder could know," Sebastian confirmed. Ciel's eyebrow raised at the pronoun 'she', but he nodded nonetheless, and Sebastian turned to Agni. "Mr. Agni, you may go downstairs now, me and the Young Master will be down shortly.

Agni looked uncertainly at Ciel. "Are you sure you need no more rest, Master Ciel?"

"I'm fine, now go," Ciel sighed rather rudely. Agni bowed, and left. Sebastian shut the door shut behind him, and Ciel continued. "What does she know?"

"She knew where the bodies were, and she was found underneath the window she shattered, though I'm certain she didn't shatter it that finely with just a dart," Sebastian reported as he straightened his master's hair and clothing. Ciel nodded in indication for him to continue. "She's refusing to answer outright questions, but apparently will confirm what we already know. She says it definitely isn't the bishop."

Ciel frowned. "Is that all?"

Sebastian smiled. "There was not much time between my arrival in the hall and you shooting the window. Rather loudly, might I add?"

Scowling, Ciel crossed to the door. "I wish to interrogate her myself."

"Yes, my Lord." Sebastian bowed.

They reached the entrance hall, and the girl looked over Ciel once before smiling zanily. Ciel looked back at her, and was faintly surprised to see the same girl who had appeared at his window minutes previously. It didn't make any sense. Then again, having a demon as a butler didn't make much sense, either, really.

"Everyone," Sebastian announced. "The Young Master would like to interrogate our uninvited guest privately, so if you could help move her into a more suitable place, it would be a great help."

Finny instantly saluted and picked up the chair by its leg with one hand. "Yes sir! Where would you like it?"

"_It?_ What am I, an object?" the girl said indignantly, suddenly looking quite wary.

Sebastian looked questioningly at Ciel, who thought about a good place to interrogate. Somewhere with no windows would be preferable, since the girl seemed to have either a twin or a duplicate – either was possible in this kind of scenario. His first thought was the cellar, before he remembered the mutilated corpse.

"The billiards room," he decided, since it was right in the middle of the manor, and therefore had no windows.

"Yes, sir!" Finny repeated, saluting again with his other hand, before taking off up the stairs. The girl still looked rather disgruntled.

Bard went back to the kitchen, and Sebastian managed to get Soma and Agni to wait for himself and Ciel in the parlour. They then followed Finny's path up the stairs to the billiards room.

"What do you think, Young Master?"

"It's strange. Her attire, her attitude, not to mention that it was her face I saw in the window. There's definitely something _off_," Ciel pondered.

"You're quite right, my Lord. There _is_ something... off."

"Her clothes remind me of a Shinigami, are you sure she isn't one of them?"

It struck Sebastian that his master had made the connection quicker than he had himself. However, according to her eyes, which were hazel, rather than two rings of green. "I'm certain she isn't. If she was we'd have another Grell Sutcliff-like character on our hands..."

They both shuddered at the thought.

"...One is enough."

"Yes. One is definitely enough, my Lord."

They reached the billiards room to see Finny dutifully standing and waiting next to where he had placed the chair in the middle of the room, having moved the billiards table out of the way.

"Thank you, Finny, you can go now," Sebastian said to him.

"Not a problem!" Finny replied gleefully, saluting and bouncing out the door.

Sebastian shut and locked said door, while Ciel stood in front of and examined the girl, who examined Ciel with the same amount of interest. Silence ensued.

"You know, you recovered from that dart awfully quickly, for such a midget," the girl remarked, breaking the silence.

Now it was Ciel's turn to look indignant. "Don't call me that," he instructed. "It might affect your fate."

"Ooh," the girl replied, pretending to be intimidated. "I'd better not then. Your name is Ciel Phantomhive, isn't it? Or do you want me to call you 'Dear Earl Phantomhive'?"

Ciel didn't answer, nor did he respond in any kind of way. Instead, he turned to Sebastian. "Call the Yard. It'll take them a good couple of hours to get here, which is enough time for us."

Bowing, Sebastian crossed the room to the phone on the table, and promptly dialled the number for Scotland Yard.

"The Yard? As in the Scotland Yard? Oh, you're not calling the police on me, are you?" the girl asked diffidently.

Ciel smirked at the fact that she was finally showing a little submission. "We are, so if you have anything you need to say, you'd best say it now."

She let out a long gust of breath. "Alright, I guess I have no choice. I didn't count on being caught, so I didn't consider arrest. It would be pointless hassle..."

Ciel didn't bother telling her that she would probably be taken into custody for involvement, anyway.

"We'll start with my name, since I already know yours, Ciel Phantomhive. I'm Seven."

The statement sounded strange, as if she was telling him her age, not her name. He suspected an alias, before he remembered what he had said yesterday; _"__The first murder occurred on the eighth. Fifty-six _divided_ by eight equals seven."_ He looked over at Sebastian, who had just put down the phone. His expression reflected Ciel's emotion.

"Young Master," he said. "Lord Randall and Mr. Abberline are on their way, despite how much they'd rather not have to visit."

"Good." Ciel turned back to the girl. "Seven, hmm? Tell me who you work for."

Seven sighed. "I'll tell you, but if you _don't_ catch him things will probably end badly for me, so make sure you do."

Ciel smirked. "Oh, don't worry about that."

"If you say so, Ciel Phantomhive, then I won't. His name is Robert Coiler, and he's the head bishop's secret apprentice," she answered. Though Ciel couldn't be sure if she was lying or not, she seemed to be pretty serious, and it was all they had for new information

So, naturally, he clung to it.

"_Secret_ apprentice?"

"Yep. No one really knew about him. The bishop is getting on in age, you see. He's also a proud man, so he doesn't want the church's members to know that he's training someone to take over for him," Seven explained, looking up calmly into Ciel's eyes.

"And so he knows about the murders?" Ciel enquired, his eyes narrowing and his brow furrowing more by the second.

"Oh, Lord no. If he knew, he'd probably drown poor Robert in holy water."

"...I see."

The interrogation continued for a while, and even though the information might have all been a lie, they gathered quite a lot of it.

For starters, they now knew the name of the killer (if 'Seven' was telling the truth, of course). They also found out that a lot of people had wanted 'purifying', so the head bishop had passed the workload onto Robert Coiler. Coiler, who had a grudge against the Queen for letting the East End become how it was – as he had grown up on the streets there – had decided to take the opportunity to get the attention of the rumoured 'Queen's Watchdog', and had successfully done so. He had apparently always been more into science than the concept of God, but had joined the church for the free lodgings. Seven didn't know _how_ he killed, but she helped him move the bodies and did the dirty work for him, since he had saved her from over a decade of slavery three years ago.

"Pardon me asking, but if he saved you, why are you telling us all this? Shouldn't you be more loyal to your benefactor?" Sebastian questioned politely.

She eyed Sebastian, who was standing dutifully behind Ciel, who was now seated in a large, regal arm chair. The picture of loyalty. She chuckled under her breath. "I learnt not to care about anyone," she remarked, still grinning. "No matter what they do for me, no matter what care they give me, I cannot care for them. I literally _can't_, it's in my nature to be apathetic towards all human beings."

Ciel narrowed his eyes again, for he had only just opened them properly after listening to the answer from her last question. Instead of pursuing the current subject, he asked another question. "Do you know where Mr. Robert Coiler is now?"

Seven smiled. "Yes."

Sebastian looked down at Ciel, who looked up at him. The exchange of glances told them that if she was to lead them into a trap, this would be the time to do it. They were mutually interested in what she had planned.

"He's in the East End. He's been staying in a pub there ever since he killed the first person. We used the excuse that he was sick, so the stupid bishop gave the assignments to _me_. Of course, this was the plan, and I've just been passing them on."

The East End? It certainly sounded more than suspicious. "Do you know the name of the pub? What he looks like?"

"I'm not really one to pay attention to detail, but it's somewhere in the middle. Something to do with knives. As for appearance, he has red hair and a goatee. That's all you need to know, really, isn't it?"

Ciel and Sebastian looked at each other again. Ciel was about to say something else to Seven, but was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

"Young Master Ciel? Mr. Sebastian?" Mey-Rin's nervous voice called through the keyhole. "Some men from the Yard have arrived, yes they have!"

Sighing, Ciel stood. "Well, I suppose that's enough to go on for now," he said in a slightly bored tone, while Sebastian unlocked the door.

"What's with that! No 'thank you' or anything?" Seven complained.

Ciel ignored her, and walked past Mey-Rin into the hall.

Though the Yard wasn't very happy about having to come out to the Phantomhive manor, they were intrigued by Seven, and confirmed that Robert Coiler had been reported missing by several residents of the church, despite the fact that his existence was meant to be a secret. They were shocked by the bodies in the cellar and the study, but Seven reluctantly admitted to placing them there after a sharp look from Sebastian. Ciel could tell that Lord Randall was slightly disappointed that Ciel was innocent yet again.

After a small bit of discussion, Lord Randall decided to take Seven in for further questioning, so they untied her from the chair and put her into handcuffs. Which she didn't seem pleased about, though she did seem pleased being able to move her arms at least a little more. Then, without another word, they left, and seemed more than happy to be doing so.


	4. Confrontation

**A/N: **One more chapter to go! Yaay!

That means no more proofreading until I finish something else! Yaay!  
>...I mean, that means I have to hurry and write more fics!<p>

On another note, thank you _very_ much to my reviewers and all of those who added this story to their favourites and alerts. My e-mail inbox was very happy, and so was I. There were quite a few, so once again, thank you so very much. I'll end up thanking you again next chapter...

Let's just get on with it.

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><p><strong>Warning: High Voltage<strong>

_**Chapter Four - Confrontation**_

"She's definitely not a human," Ciel stated in all certainty. He and Sebastian were standing outside the door, watching the Yard's carriage roll away.

"No, she is not. Though, I've never met anything like that before," Sebastian stated. "Anyway, Young Master, do you still need my protection or should I go prepare lunch?"

"I should be fine. We should leave for London after lunch. Oh, and hire some help to clean up the study, the cellar and my bedroom."

Sebastian grimaced, recalling that there was also a bucket of sick outside the study. "Yes... I'll get onto it right away, and it should be done when we return from London. We shouldn't be there long."

Ciel nodded. "You're right, we shouldn't. At the most, we may need to stay overnight in the townhouse..." He wasn't incredibly fond of this idea, as he knew Soma and Agni would follow him there, too.

Sebastian then went to prepare lunch, and Ciel went to the parlour, where he discovered Soma pacing around angrily whilst Agni tried to comfort him. When he saw Ciel enter, Prince Soma rushed up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Ciel! Is everything alright? What happened to the intruder? Where's Sebastian?"

Sighing, Ciel raised his hands to lift the Indian Prince's own from his shoulders, before walking past him and sitting down in the arm chair he usually accommodated when in the lavishly furnished parlour.

"Everything's fine. The yard came and took the girl in for questioning, though I don't see the point; _we_ couldn't get much out of her," he explained, knowing that his lie would go unnoticed. "Sebastian's preparing lunch; we're leaving for London after that."

The agitated Prince flopped down in the seat opposite the Young Earl with a relieved sigh. "We may as well go with you to London, then," he predictably said. "For now… Agni, go and help Mr. Sebastian with lunch."

Agni bowed. "Jo Ajna." Then he left.

"So, Ciel!" the Prince was back to his usual, annoying, cheerful self. "We should play chess! I've been practicing! Agni says I might be able to beat you now!"

Ciel raised an eyebrow, leaning his head onto his knuckles. Of course Agni would have told him that; he told the Prince pretty much whatever he wanted to hear. However, Ciel was bored, and crushing Prince Soma's ego might entertain him some.

Three easily-won games later, Agni came and announced that lunch had been served. While Soma managed to practically inhale three helpings of butter chicken, Ciel barely finished one small serving. He was thinking, and he could never really eat when his mind was busy. It was almost as if the fullness of his head gave an impression of his stomach being full, too. He didn't know or care about such trivial things, however.

What weighed on his mind was the value of the information that 'Seven' had given them. He wasn't fooled by what had obviously been an alias, but the connection between the dates, times, and now this unusual name puzzled him. Fifty-six, eight, seven. Did the numbers even have any relevance, or were they just there to confuse him, make him think too hard about something that meant nothing at all?

From what he gathered, so-called Robert Coiler was no idiot, if he was even the right man, since the validity of Seven's information had not yet been confirmed. Hence the reason they were going to London; to find whether it was or not. There was a high likelihood that the whole thing was a trap, or just a straight fib. Why would someone give away their benefactor so easily? Even to avoid being arrested, they'd probably end up murdered by said benefactor anyway.

"_No matter what they do for me, no matter what care they give me, I cannot care for them. I literally can't, it's in my nature to be apathetic towards all human beings."_

He scowled at his rice. Just what _was _that damn girl? Was she even a girl at all, or was she some kind of supernatural creature in disguise? Some of her traits didn't seem right for a female, and he had definitely seen her face outside the window when she was supposedly tied up downstairs. Was it an inhuman ability or a look-alike? A twin? A _clone_?

It was all a complete mind whirl, but he decided that it didn't matter who or what she, he, _it_ was, what mattered was the Queen's wishes, and those were to stop the murders. And they were definitely going to do that, no matter the cost.

Finally, they were in the carriage headed for the Phantomhive's London Townhouse. Though, unfortunately, Soma had insisted on sharing a carriage, and so Ciel had to force himself to zone out, lest have to listen to the Prince's obnoxious rant about stupid subjects that Ciel didn't care to note.

After what seemed like a day, but was only really a couple of hours (which, admittedly, was a relatively long time anyway), the house loomed into view. Soma and Agni were dropped off, luggage was unloaded, and Ciel and Sebastian were off again before either of the Indians could protest or even notice what was happening. Ciel had also changed clothes (or rather, have his clothes changed for him), and Sebastian was wearing his long black coat. Looking like a noble on the East End often caused too much of a stir, as they had found, so blending in at least a little was infinitely wiser.

Sebastian stopped the carriage at a stable a few blocks away from where middle-class and acceptable looking buildings started shifting into run-down, filthy lowest-class buildings. Not only were the roads in the East End too potholed and cracked to ride on, but a carriage such as theirs was a complete giveaway of Ciel's nobility anyway. Not to mention how the horses might react if some trouble were to break out.

They walked casually into the run-down neighbourhood, all the while making sure that they weren't being watched or followed. Ciel had his gun in a holster, concealed just above his waistband at his back, as well as Sebastian, but he couldn't help a feeling of unease creep up upon him more and more as they neared the centre of the filthy neighbourhood, ignoring the leers of the occasional filthy person they passed.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Ciel said under his breath, knowing full well that Sebastian would hear him.

"I'm not sure," his butler replied quietly, so that Ciel had to strain his ears to hear. "There don't seem to be any pubs around here."

Ciel sighed. "Then we have to ask." Reluctantly, he stopped in front of a man who was about to pass them in the opposite direction. He didn't look as rough (in comparison) to some of the others they had seen pass them, but he kept one hand on his hip, where his gun was easily in reach, as he did so. Putting on the best cockney accent he could muster – though he really hadn't wanted to resort to using it out of pride – he asked the man. "'S'cuse me, sir, but can yeh tell uz where the nearest pub is?"

He heard Sebastian shift behind him, and decided he would kill him later.

The man looked down at him. "Why d'you wanna know?" he said gruffly.

Relieved that a knife hadn't suddenly been pulled on him, Ciel recited the story he had come up with three seconds ago. "This 'ere... er... man," he gestured to Sebastian, "is payin' me five quid to show 'im where it is. Thing is, 'm only a kid, so I don't know meself, do I?"

Ciel hoped to hell that his story had worked. Thankfully, it seemed to; the man looked up at Sebastian. "'ll tell yeh if I ge' ten quid."

Sebastian looked at Ciel, who nodded minutely, pulled a tenner out of his pocket and handed it to the man. He reached out to take it, but Sebastian didn't let go. "You ask for a high price, so I must know I'm not being tricked. Show me the direction of the pub, first."

The man growled, but didn't protest. Still holding the note with one hand, he jerked the other in the direction of a side alley on the other side of the road. "Down there, turn righ', and keep goin' 'til yeh see a sign with three knife 'andles stuck to i'."

Holding up his end of the deal, Sebastian released the note, and the man sped off with it. The two watched his back until it disappeared around a corner.

"An admirable performance, Young Master," Sebastian said quietly.

"Shut it," was Ciel's snapped reply. He thought about what they had just been told now, and what they had been told earlier. Seven had said something about knives when asked about the pub, so this sounded like the right one.

They followed the man's instructions, and soon found the sign, which did indeed look as if someone had stabbed it with three knives. In fact, they probably had, and the pub was most likely called "The Three Knives"

They stopped outside. "How are we to know who he is?" Ciel asked. Sebastian smirked.

"He'll recognise you, won't he?" he suggested.

Ciel frowned, thinking he was probably right. "Let's go in then, I guess."

They stepped up onto the threshold, and Sebastian pushed open the rickety door. They entered.

The interior was not much different from the exterior; it was still dark, it was still cold, it was still filthy and musty, and smelt of alcohol, cigarettes and human waste. However, the two former were considerably stronger now they were inside. It was a pub, after all.

The bartender sneered at them as they wove through the rickety tables to the counter.

"You'll have to order something as to not seem suspicious," Ciel reminded Sebastian under his breath.

"Welcome to th' Three Knives. Waddaya want?" the stinky bartender asked, though it was directed more at Sebastian. Ciel scowled a little.

"A large brandy, please," Sebastian asked, his voice even as always. The man sniffed and pulled out a filthy glass, filling it with a filthy liquid and banging it down on the filthy counter. Sebastian handed over the money and Ciel lead him to a table in the corner, where they could easily observe the people in the pub.

There were only a few other people, and all were alone, sitting in different areas of the room, their features hidden. It was an expected sight in such a dingy place.

However, the silence only made it harder for the Servant and Master to converse.

"Can you see if any of them have red hair? Or a goatee?" Ciel breathed.

Sebastian didn't answer; he seemed to be looking over at the man in the opposite corner, who was busy scribbling away rapidly on something.

"If he's staying here he's probably hired a room... we could ask to see him, but that might seem suspicious..." Ciel continued. Sebastian still didn't reply. "Say something!" he hissed impatiently. Sebastian turned his head calmly back to face the young Earl.

"My apologies. I was merely observing that Shinigami in the corner," he whispered in reply. Ciel only just caught what he said.

"Shinigami? What's a Shinigami doing here?" he hissed, glancing over at the man, who seemed rather small in stature, and hadn't touched his drink. Not that Ciel could blame him, of course. The place was filthy…

"I'm not sure, but it's hardly our business," Sebastian replied. "Though his reason for being here may or may not be related to ours."

Ciel sighed agitatedly. "Let's just go, it reeks in here. That _thing_ probably tricked us anyway."

"Yes, my Lord."

As they got up to leave, Ciel saw a glimpse of a pair of glasses underneath the supposed Shinigami's hat, and one of the other men shifted as if he was about to get up, too.

Once they were out on the street again, Ciel felt at liberty to cough properly without feeling as if it were a funeral home. The smell of cigarettes was unpleasant to anyone, but even worse to an asthmatic. Ciel couldn't understand why anyone would want to inhale the horrible smoke directly into their throats; it made him wretch just thinking about it.

"What a complete waste of time," he complained. "I knew the wretched thing was lying!"

"Perhaps, but I think we were on the right track. The Shinigami was there, after all, and it didn't look like he was just having a nice night out drinking," Sebastian reasoned.

Ciel was irritated and tired by this point, and was therefore in no mood to hear reason of any kind. "Whatever. Let's just go home; we can investigate some more tomorrow.

"As you wish, Young Master," Sebastian replied, amused at the boy's anger.

"Hey, you!" they heard behind them as they turned back into the alley they had been directed down. Ciel sighed and swung around, his hand near his gun, even though Sebastian was right there, half in front of him in the narrow space.

The man running towards them was from the pub. He'd been wearing some kind of hood, but now that it was removed, it revealed flaming red hair, unusually flat facial features, and a curled goatee at the end of his pointed chin. He was grinning lopsidedly whilst looking at Ciel with a somewhat hungry expression on his face. Sebastian shifted, in case his Master should be attacked by the man.

"Robert Coiler."

"Earl Ciel Phantom'ive," the man said, leering.

"I guess the thing wasn't lying after all, Sebastian," Ciel said conversationally.

"It appears so, Young Master." Neither of them took their eyes off the man. Was he really the Bishop's secret apprentice? He looked nearly as forsaken as Sebastian, a demon, should.

Ciel lifted up the back of his shirt to pull out the gun so that he could detain the apparently unarmed man, but Sebastian grabbed his arm before he could do so. "Wait."

Robert Coiler laughed. "'m not gonna do anythin' '_ere_. Would cause too much fuss, tha' would."

"Oh? Then what _are_ you going to do?" Ciel asked, pulling out of Sebastian's grip and returning his arm to his side. Though he found that Coiler's reasoning was probably just an excuse, as it was getting dark and there was no one in sight.

"Let's arrange a meetin' place for tomorrow," he suggested. "Down in Westminster, on South Avenue. Old run-down abandoned church, yeh can' miss it."

Ciel's gaze didn't waver from the man. He was already in a foul mood, and for some reason, the man's pert grin made him even angrier. "Why an abandoned church in a busy area?" he asked, or rather, spat, suspiciously.

"No one'd expect it, tha's why!" Robert Coiler laughed. Ciel _really_ wanted to shoot the bastard. He was the culprit after all; he had pretty much proved it by simply knowing Ciel's name and being in the pub in the first place. Plus, there was that Shinigami there. Maybe it was already written for Coiler to die right now in the alley—

_No_, Ciel stopped his train of thought. Irrationality wasn't going to get him anywhere. The best course of action was probably to go along with whatever Robert Coiler said, then beat him at his own game. Besides, if he attacked now, the man was sure to have some form of defence. Even if Ciel was seen as a child, the man obviously knew how dangerous he was. He probably didn't know that it was mostly down to having a demon butler, but that was a detail he didn't really need to know.

With a glance at Sebastian, Ciel nodded. "Fine. Tomorrow. South Avenue."

Robert Coiler's annoying grin widened even further. "Wonderful! See yeh there, Earl. Oh, an' don' bother bringin' anyone with yeh. Yeh'll come off worse if yeh do." He was eyeing Sebastian as he said it.

"Whatever. Sebastian, we're leaving," Ciel said firmly, dismissing Coiler's warning. He didn't need to worry about it; he was already certain that Coiler would be the one coming off worse.

"Yes, Young Master," Sebastian replied, glancing at Robert Coiler one more time, before following his master all the way back to the stable, whereupon Ciel flounced angrily into the carriage without another word.

Sebastian frowned as he closed the door, but drove the carriage back to the townhouse wordlessly.

Ciel was troubled by his own short temper. Was the lack of restful sleep getting to him? He'd gotten angry easily yesterday, too, for less of a reason. This day, however, had been especially troublesome for him. He was looking forward to a nice hot cup of tea and some quiet when he got back. Only, there was one small issue...

"CIIIEEEEEEEL!"

And it came in the form of an infuriatingly overenthusiastic Indian Prince.

The tired and irritable Earl braced himself as Soma came hurtling towards him when he stepped out of the carriage.

However, to his surprise, Sebastian stepped in front of him.

"Terribly sorry, Prince Soma, but the Young Master has had a very long and tiring day."

Soma blinked up at Sebastian. "So that means he needs _more_ hugs!" he said, as if it were simple logic. Agni appeared behind him, smiling as if nothing was happening.

Sebastian put on his most amiable expression and tone of voice. "The Young Master does not enjoy being coddled, so you would be helping him more by giving him space."

Ciel was surprised, yet grateful. Not that he would ever admit it. It was just that it was rare that his butler helped him fend off the overwhelming Prince, as he wasn't _really_ any danger to his health.

"O-okay! I'll help Ciel by making him some soothing Chai tea! Come, Agni!" the Prince exclaimed, turning and rushing back into the house.

"Jo Ajna," Agni replied, bowing to Sebastian and Ciel before following.

Sebastian turned to Ciel. "How was that, Young Master?"

Sighing, Ciel replied. "Yes, yes, very good. Now let's go inside; it's bloody freezing out here."


	5. Finality

**A/N: **This is so late. I am so sorry. The days after posting the last chapter became extremely draining. I had a little bit of time, but no energy. Not saying that was a bad thing, though, I mean, I won 20 dollars in the science fair, was asked to write in some extra bits in the script for the school play, improved since last week's screen-acting class, and I was one of the only ones able to hit the highest soprano note in choir rehearsals and not screech whilst doing so. I'm not even going to _start_ on school itself... I guess its a good thing I'm not popular enough on here to be flamed for not updating fast enough. xD

I have to say, that's a pretty good explanation, but all the same, I'm super sorry. Also, if there's anything in this chapter that you're still confused about, then by all means, ASK. I won't answer you directly, but if you keep your eyes opened you'll find the answer eventually. :] (Though hopefully not too far into the future...) I'm kinda worried about this chapter though D:

Now wish me luck as I clean my room, write an English essay, and study for maths and science tests. All at the same time.

I'm kidding. Now enjoy the chapter.

* * *

><p><strong> Warning: High Voltage<strong>

_**Chapter Five - Finality**_

Though it slightly irked Ciel that Prince Soma listened to _Sebastian_ when he was told that the young Earl required some space, but ignored the latter whenever he mentioned it himself, he was glad to be left alone for once.

"Honestly, this is more trouble than it's worth," he remarked bitterly, sitting in the parlour; resting his feet up on a rich pouffe, and nursing a hot cup of Chai tea in his hands. The tea was sweeter than he expected, so he quite liked it. "And there's no doubt he has something planned. Coiler, I mean."

"If you know this, my Lord, why are you playing along?" Sebastian asked as he stoked the fire.

"Because it's a game worth playing," he explained. "He probably thinks he can't lose; it'll be nice to knock that sleazy grin off of his ugly face."

Sebastian didn't answer. He pulled out his silver pocket watch, and looked at the time. "Young Master," he said, looking up as he put it away. "It is approaching ten. You should go to bed once you have finished that tea."

"I'm not going to bed tonight," Ciel said casually as he opened a book. Sebastian narrowed his eyes and scrutinised the young boy's face; there were still dark rings under his slightly bloodshot eyes, and he was slightly subdued in his movements and speech. He was obviously exhausted, not only physically, but mentally tired from the nightmares and this whole case. So he did not say anything to his stubborn master, and left the room to call the main manor, just to make sure it was still standing. He then made his master some more tea, and prepared for the next day. Agni helped him out a bit, since Prince Soma was already fast asleep. Sebastian didn't bother mentioning that Ciel was refusing to sleep himself.

By the time he returned to the parlour to take away the teacups and check the coals in the fire, it was somewhere past eleven, and Ciel was fast asleep.

"Honestly, Young Master," Sebastian said quietly, having fully expected this to happen. He took away the empty teacup and the book and covered him with a blanket. The Young Master looked so defenceless when he slept; like the child he so obstinately denied being. Coiler had obviously known of his young age, otherwise he would have expressed more surprise, or not have recognised him at all. There was some other kind of connection here, Sebastian was sure of it. That being said, he wouldn't put it past his master to have figured that much out already, and possibly more, since he was more familiar with the workings of the human mind than Sebastian was. Nevertheless, the novelty of it all never wore off for the demon butler.

And so, as he returned from the kitchen again, he picked up a book and decided he would keep an eye on his sound asleep tenacious master for the night.

The town house became very silent as the darkness outside grew deeper. Despite being in London, the silence still hung in a thick layer over the even thicker blackness.

All the rooms were dark, except for the parlour, of course, but even there all lights had been extinguished. The only light that remained was the flickering flames in the fireplace, which cast a warm glow over the room, and caused elongated shadows wherever an object got in its way.

Of course since it was this quiet, anyone could have heard the rattling of the lock on the back door being picked, then pushed open with a loud creak.

Sebastian smiled idly; closing the book he was reading and setting it down beside him. He took out his pocket watch and skilfully flicked it open. It was just past quarter to four. He flicked it shut with a soft _click_ and put it away again.

_He's much later than I expected,_ he thought to himself, as the stairs in the kitchen creaked under the weight of someone trying to ascend them silently.

"Sebastian," said a whispered voice.

"Ah, Young Master," Sebastian replied, in an equally hushed tone. "Did I wake you?"

"I was never asleep," Ciel hissed. "I was just dozing."

Sebastian smiled. It certainly looked like he hadn't slept, but he suspected that was due to something else. He didn't reply, and instead listened to the insistent footsteps below them.

"Am I correct in assuming that you expected this as much as I?" he finally whispered.

"Of course I expected it, it was obvious," Ciel replied, a grin creeping up onto his face. "I practically showed him the way here by not assuring he didn't follow."

"Very good, Sir," Sebastian smirked. "So what would you like me to do now?"

Ciel stood up and stretched. "Greet our guest; bring him in here then go prepare some tea for us." He sat back down, crossing one leg over the other and adjusting his eye-patch so it sat more comfortably

Sebastian stood and knelt before him. "Yes," he said quietly. "My Lord."

Only a minute later, a slightly dazed-looking Robert Coiler was dragged into the parlour and sat down opposite Ciel.

"Robert Coiler is here, Young Master," Sebastian said contentedly, before leaving to make the requested tea.

Ciel leaned forward, resting his chin on his entwined fingers. "Well, you're certainly visiting at an odd hour, Mr. Coiler."

Coiler blinked a few times, before his horrible grin crept onto his face and he leant back in his chair. "Heh, I didn't expect to be caught," he said, dropping the heavy accent he had worn earlier. "I suppose I underestimated you."

"You did," Ciel agreed, smiling. "Not the wisest thing to do, I must say."

"I guess not. But if you don't mind me saying, you don't exactly look the part," he remarked.

"Perhaps not, but nor do you."

"You may be right there, Earl Phantomhive."

Sebastian returned and poured the both of them tea. They didn't say anything the whole time, but simply stared at each other.

"Sebastian, it's quite dark in here. Light a few lamps," Ciel ordered.

"Yes, Young Master." More light filled the room, and both Ciel and Robert Coiler were able to see the other more clearly.

"So, Mr. Coiler," Ciel started casually. "Who are you, really?"

Coiler let out an unpleasant laugh. "Ah, so you saw past that, too? You really are more trouble than you're worth..."

"Is that why you want me dead?"

"Huh?" he blinked.

Ciel's slight smile widened. "You would have killed me either way, right? Whether I agreed to have Her Majesty assassinated or not."

Robert Coiler's sneer turned into a scowl.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you kill either of us," Ciel continued.

_Bang!_

Coiler gasped.

Ciel smirked.

The hand holding the gun fell back to his side, and Robert Coiler sat down again, staring up at Sebastian in disbelief.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but I can't have you shooting the Young Master," he said politely, twirling the bullet between his long, gloved fingers.

Coiler opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking like a particularly stupid fish out of water.

"Now, tell me what 'Seven' is," Ciel said, straightening up, as if he hadn't just had a gun pointed and shot at him.

"I..." Robert Coiler's eyes snapped back to Ciel, then to Sebastian again. "She's a Nephilim," he sighed, in a tone that suggested defeat.

Sebastian nodded slowly. "Of course."

Ciel cocked an eyebrow. "A what?"

"A half-human half-angel, Young Master," Sebastian explained.

Coiler nodded. "At least, that's what she told me, anyway, when she decided to help me. She used a projected image of herself to ask me to help her escape when she was a slave. S-said she'd repay me."

"A projected image?"

"Y-yes. She can only use it for a short time. It's the only thing she can do," Coiler explained. It was entertaining how his demeanour had changed from being so confident to being pleasingly intimidated.

"I see." Ciel remembered how the image outside his window had vanished the moment he had shot at it. He hoped he'd hurt her in some way.

"I guess I'm helpless without her here, aren't I?" Coiler asked, smiling sheepishly.

"That you are, Mr. Coiler," Ciel voiced somewhat triumphantly. "And now that you've become aware of that fact, tell me exactly _why_ you want me and Her Majesty dead. Just out of interest." he added.

Coiler swallowed, his eyes flicking momentarily to Sebastian, who stood dutifully behind Ciel's chair. "Revenge," he stated, with a bit of force behind his voice.

Ciel frowned. "What for?"

"Years ago," he began, sighing. "My family was at the top of the tobacco trade. Then, one night, I had gone out to attend a friend's coming-of-age party, and came home to see police carriages, and my parents being arrested. They were executed the week after."

Blinking, Ciel asked, "What has that got to do with me?"

"The Queen suspected a new drug was on the market, and gave the job of investigating to her beloved watchdog," Coiler spat bitterly.

Ciel nodded. "I assume you're talking about my predecessor."

He didn't reply, but continued. "I escaped police custody, and went to live on the East End until some knuckleheads from the church picked me up in order to succeed the head bishop. Since I wasn't as cut off with society, I heard that the Phantomhives had all been killed!" he said, a flicker of malice in his eyes. Ciel kept a straight face. "I kept an eye out for any news, and it was a good thing I did, since I heard that there was one survivor; _you._"

"And so you then wanted to kill me in order to exact your revenge for your family, correct?" Ciel finished for him. "How pitiful of you."

"Perhaps, but don't you want revenge, too?" growled Coiler, his previous manner returning somewhat. "It's all a never ending cycle. I want revenge on you, you want revenge on someone else. What's the bet _they_ want revenge on someone, too?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Vengeance," he stated. "A human weakness, don't you think? I don't want revenge for my parents' deaths, I want to cause the same amount of humiliation, pain and suffering to those who cause that for me."

Coiler's filthy face broke out in a wide grin, before he started laughing like a maniac. The sound was somewhat reminiscent of the Undertaker, only more filled with spite than humour. "Hah! That's right! You were kept like a dog, weren't you? And not exactly a well-cared for dog!" he continued to laugh. It was a loud and terrible sound; it was surprising that Soma and Agni hadn't burst into the room yet, from the amount of noise he was making.

Somehow, the laughter irked the Earl, who, despite his pride, was still extremely tired and short-fused.

"I can only _imagine _how entertaining _that_ would have been to see!" continued the hysterical Robert Coiler. "If I had, I might let you live so I can see it again, someday!"

His laughing continued. So irritating... so infuriating...

_Bang!_

Coiler gasped.

It was like some bizarre sort of auditory Déjà vu. Only this time, it was Ciel holding the gun. This time, the bullet had not been stopped.

Robert Coiler stared at his bloody shoulder in disbelief.

Ciel put the gun down again and lowered himself back into the chair. "Such an awful noise," he remarked. "Though, it suits a filthy man such as yourself."

From behind Ciel, Sebastian smirked, thoroughly enjoying the whole thing.

"You-!" Coiler began, clutching at the wound with the hand on the arm that was not injured.

"Please, don't strain yourself. Being shot in the shoulder is very strenuous, I'm sure," Ciel remarked, keeping a straight face. "I wouldn't know. Sebastian, what time is it?"

"Approaching six in the morning, Master."

"Good. Answer me one more question, Coiler. How did you kill them?"

Coiler looked as if he'd been hit in the head. Or, rather, shot in the shoulder. Which he had been, as a matter of fact. "Wh-wha?"

"Good Lord. Did you forget the reason why this whole thing started in the first place?"

He blinked, his face rapidly losing colour. "A-ah. I used... I used fake lightning. And... and dog's blood with extra e-electrolytes and electrodes."

Sebastian nodded. "If I may, sir. The autopsy report, which you never got to read, did mention that traces of dog's blood were found on the victims."

Ciel smirked. "I thought so. It would have seemed suspicious to cut them open, wouldn't it? I suppose you fooled them into thinking they were being 'purified', whatever that means."

Robert Coiler opened his mouth to talk, but Ciel held up a hand. "That's enough. Sebastian, we're taking him to the Yard now, bind his wrists in case he tries to resist."

"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian replied, fetching the rope that usually held the curtain back, and making his way towards the confused man.

"W-wait!" Coiler stuttered. "Don't think you can take me so easily!" He fumbled with his gun, raising it with a shaking hand. Sebastian's hand closed around his wrist, however, and it clattered to the floor.

"That's quite enough. You'll be in less pain if you don't struggle."

Robert Coiler had no choice. He let Sebastian tie his wrists behind his back, and soundlessly sat in the carriage on the ride into town. Ciel didn't take his eye off the man the whole time.

"So I've been caught," he said quietly, a short while before they arrived.

"Yes, you have. It was a rather stupid move on your part, I must say."

Looking up at the Young Earl, Coiler smiled weakly. "You'll go far in life with a head like that," he idly mentioned. "Not to mention that butler of yours..."

"I'm already the Earl of Phantomhive and the head of the Funtom Toy and Confectionary Company," Ciel reminded him. "I've already gone far."

Robert Coiler blinked. "Eh, well, I'm surprised you haven't already gotten that revenge you wanted." Ciel opened his mouth to protest that he didn't want revenge, but Coiler interrupted again. "No matter how you look at it, kid, it's still revenge," he reasoned. "It's a human weakness, like you said. You're human, aren't you?"

Ciel said nothing, but continued to scrutinise him.

"Yeah. You are. You're pretty cold, but you're different from Seven… If you ever happen to see her again, tell her thanks," the ragged man sighed, wincing slightly from the throbbing pain in his shoulder.

"Oh, you'll probably see her before I do," Ciel explained. "The Yard took her in for questioning."

"Ah... well, there's no doubt she's escaped by now," Coiler coughed slightly. "She _is_ a Nephilim."

Once again, Ciel didn't reply.

"So, Ciel Phantomhive," Coiler continued persistently. "What will you do after this?"

Ciel sighed. "I'm sure the Yard can tie any lose ends for this investigation, so I'll be writing to Her Majesty and continuing with my life."

Coiler stayed silent. There was nothing else he could say.

He knew, at that point, that he was a dead man.

The Scotland Yard had been less than pleased at the state Coiler was in, but they couldn't charge Ciel for assault on the account that Coiler was technically an intruder. Besides, the damage wasn't fatal; the wound wasn't even deep enough to scrape the bone, which somewhat surprised the Yard.

_I'm probably better with a gun than any of them are,_ he thought to himself. _It's not like I would be stupid enough to kill him on purpose… _

The Yard heartily agreed that they would be able to finish off the investigation themselves, which included finding the escaped Seven, who had simply disappeared when no one was looking. This surprised neither Ciel, Sebastian, or, of course Coiler, who smiled and said under his breath. "That's my girl."

Finally, Ciel was allowed to go home. He returned to the townhouse first, of course, where Soma still hadn't risen, luckily, but Agni had.

"_There_ you two are!" he exclaimed as they walked in through the front door. "Where were you at such an early hour?"

"My Master had some business to attend to in London," Sebastian explained, as Ciel climbed the stairs. "He wanted to get it done as soon as possible so that he may return to the main house."

Agni nodded, eyeing Ciel, whom he could tell was utterly exhausted. "I'll go make some breakfast."

Sebastian smiled warmly. "Thank you very much, Mr. Agni."

"Sebastian, what do you think of the Nephilim? Aren't Angels the enemies of Demons?" Ciel said as he was being bathed some minutes later.

"She did annoy me, but I suspect that she's not exactly half. There's more human influence, which is why I wasn't able to tell what she was," Sebastian clarified.

"I see. She didn't seem to care for Coiler, though. Aren't Angels supposed to love everyone or something ridiculous like that?"

Smiling, Sebastian replied, "They're more heartless than you would think. Mr. Coiler seemed to care a bit for her though, didn't he?"

"Perhaps a bit. Ridiculous, in my opinion; getting close to your pawns is always a bad idea. They could be taken out at any time."

Sebastian's smile widened. "You couldn't be more right, My Lord."

Wisely, Agni hadn't told Soma about Ciel and Sebastian's early morning excursion, and so he happily jabbered on about nothing all through breakfast.

Finally, though delayed by the ever-enthusiastic Prince Soma, they were able to leave London before lunchtime, and when they reached the main manor two hours later, Sebastian hurried off to make sure that Bard, Finny and Mey-Rin weren't causing chaos, while Ciel went to his study. He was glad to see that all of the blood had been cleaned up, and looked relatively neat. He guess he had the aforementioned servants to thank for that. Despite their clumsiness, they had done a good job. The window had been repaired, too, though someone had probably been hired to do that.

He sat down, and made himself some notes to make sure he hadn't missed any important details. When he was sure that anything left to do would be possible for the Yard, he smirked, satisfied, and began his letter to the Queen. '_To Her Majesty'_, he wrote.

After lunch, he caught up on some paperwork that had somehow built up for him in his short time in London, before he finally decided to take a well-needed nap.

"Well, Young Master, you've done very well in this case," Sebastian commented, undoing the buttons on Ciel's shirt. "You hardly needed me at all,"

Ciel smirked. "I wouldn't say that; I'd be dead about three times already for this case alone if I hadn't had a demon butler to protect me."

"I'm flattered, my Lord."

"Well," Ciel smirked, climbing into bed. "You're one hell of a butler, aren't you?"

Sebastian mirrored his Young Master's smile as he pulled the covers up.

That night, for the first time in three, Ciel Phantomhive slept peacefully.

Sebastian could only place it to his over-exhaustion, and decided to work his Young Master harder, so he would be this tired every night and therefore have no energy for silly nightmares.

So he did just that.


End file.
